Prepare Your Family and Your Business for a Hurricane or other Natural Disaster
Hurricane season is in full swing and we are already starting to see the negative effects of severe weather. If you have not already done so, it is imperative that you create a plan for your family and your business for emergency situations. Check out Floridadisaster.org for a complete step-by-step guide for creating a plan.
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Visiting www.runchickenrun.com is as much fun as you can have looking at restaurant web pages on the Internet. runchickenrun.com is the home page for Yardbird Southern Table & bar and on it you will find the menus for food and drink, the story behind the restaurant, the farmers that supply the restaurant, photos and more. Visitors to the web page can make a reservation and review the restaurants press coverage as well. Check it out!]]>
Menulus is about to ship! Menulus Composer, a web-based mobile application, allows food service operations to index and structure menu content in a way that is search and mobile friendly. In other words, food service operations can take a regular menu, break apart the individual food items and list them on the web so that search engines will find them. This is a significant improvement over the current option of simply digitizing a menu as a single unit.
To prepare for Menulus, post and tag photos of your food items. Menulus Composer will provide the user-friendly online tools to make uploading photos and descriptions a piece of cake (or pie), so the best thing to do now is start taking photos.
Food service operators, be sure to go to www.menulus.com to pre-register. Menulus is completely FREE and provides a completely mobile website, increased SEO, Facebook and website embedding and enhanced local search.
]]>This app is free and available on iTunes. While it doesn’t scan for actual germs or residue on your hands, it simulates a scan using the camera function of the device and then presents various germs that could be present on your hands. In addition to “scanning,” it provides views of germs and “...helpful facts and tips on hand-washing techniques and foodborne illness prevention….”
We can all use one more tool for food safety training…
Main Dishes / Center of the Plate*
Produce
Sides/Starches*Source: National Restaurant Association, “What’s Hot in 2012” Chef Survey, 2011
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Where and when did the US begin?
Ask most Americans, and they will likely respond that it was, well … in 1607 with the British settlement of Jamestown, or when the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620, or maybe the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
A more informed answer is that “La Florida” began half-a-millennium-ago in Florida!
Way back in 1513, Spanish explorer Ponce de León landed on the Atlantic coast, proclaimed it “La Florida,” and forever changed this continent, and the world.
Next year - 2013 - marks the 500th anniversary of this momentous event, and the year-long, statewide commemoration is being called “Viva Florida 500.”
For the nonprofit Florida Humanities Council, “Viva Florida 500” is an unprecedented “teachable moment,” a time for Floridians and Americans alike to explore and appreciate our state’s rich history and culture.
FRLA, Visit Florida, and the Florida Department of State additionally view2013 as a unique time to promote Florida, tout our fascinating history and landscape, and draw visitors to our state.
Over the next year, there will be “Viva Florida 500” commemorations of every kind in virtually every corner of Florida. They will include history fairs, re-enactments, conferences, exhibits, festivals, and seminars.
Learn about all of it, and get your business or group involved, by accessing these web sites: www.flhum.org and www.fla500.com
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Seagar’s Prime Steaks & Seafood, the only AAA Four-Diamond restaurant in Destin, Fla., is the proud recipient of the 2012 ‘Certificate of Excellence’ from TripAdvisor. The accolade, which honors hospitality excellence, is given only to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveler reviews on TripAdvisor worldwide. Approximately ten percent of listings on TripAdvisor receive this prestigious award. To qualify for the ‘Certificate of Excellence,’ businesses must maintain an overall rating of four or higher, out of a possible five, as reviewed by travelers on TripAdvisor. Additional criteria include the volume of reviews received within the last 12 months.
Seagar’s has also been recognized by Wine Spectator magazine with the ‘Best of Award of Excellence’ and by Distinguished Restaurants of North America (DiRoNA) with the ‘Award of Excellence,’ among many others.
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Staymonkey.com is a new web page that will assist lodging establishments in marketing properties. It aspires to educate and advocate? consumers about lodging operations. Staymonkey.com conveys information to consumers about properties, not just pricing. From property maintenance and security to quality of housekeeping, staymonkey.com can assist operators in property promotion.
Staymonkey.com is generously inviting FRLA lodging members to take advantage of a free six-month trial listing. Go to staymonkey.com to complete the application and note in the application that your property is a FRLA member.
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The Ritz-Carlton Naples was recently awarded a SMITTY (Social Media in Travel and Tourism) Award by Travel + Leisure. The SMITTY was for the Best Use of a Social Media Platform.
T + L notes that the hotel’s Facebook page, "…asked questions on Facebook such as 'How do you like your coffee?'" For any respondents who booked a stay, staffers were able to surprise the guests with a detailed knowledge of their preferences.
Congratulations!
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Socks are only for bowling. 